On 17th Dec, 2021, Rotary Club of Mount Everest Lalitpur (RCMEL) had an official club visit by Rtn. Santosh Rijal, the District Governor of District 3292 for the year 2021-22. On the same day, we organized our 4th Club Assembly and Rotary Weekly Meeting #1044, and had an opportunity to give Vocational Excellence Award 2021 to two distinguished personalities, Mr Hari Man Shrestha and Mr Chhatra Bahadur Kayastha, for their contribution in culture conservation.

The official program began at Ageno Restaurant, Lalitpur in the afternoon where Rotarians met and greeted each other. Afterwards, under the guidance of our President Prem K Khatri, our team along with Assistant Governor Rtn. Preeti Shah visited Shree Rudrayani HS School in Khokana, Lalitpur.

We organized an awareness program titled Fire Safety for All at the school ground with the school students in attendance. In the program, a firefighter imparted knowledge about handling fire and how to stay safe from it. He demonstrated how to use fire extinguisher and how to safely control and douse fire on a LPG cylinder. It was a great event where the students learn invaluable lesson of fire safety. The awareness program at the school was organized by Rotary Club of Mount Everest Lalitpur and it was supported by Atulya Foundation Pvt. Ltd.

After the fire safety training at the school in Khokana, our program shifted to Indreni Suites Hotel, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu. The program started with the arrival of District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal, District Secretary Rtn. Prabhat Yonjon, Assistant Governor Rtn. Preeti Shah and PDGs. Then, our President Prem K Khatri called the 4th Club Assembly and requested District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal to conduct the assembly. District Governor requested the Standing Committee Chairs to present their reports, which covered club administration, membership, service projects, public image and Rotary Foundation.

Then, President Rtn. Prem K Khatri called Rotary Weekly Meeting #1044 in the same venue. Because of the pandemic, we weren’t able to hold physical meetings and therefore weren’t able to honor our IPP Rtn. Saibal Ghosh. Therefore, we took this opportunity to express our gratitude to IPP Rtn. Saibal Ghosh and celebrate his tenure as the Club President for the year 2020-21. The District Governor handed out a Certificate of Appreciation and a token of love to our Immediate Past President.

We also provided Rotary Pins to our new members: Rtn. Sudarshan Nepal, Rtn. Shyam Sundar Kandel, Rtn. Ravi Lamichhane and Rtn. Pallav Pant. District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal did the honor of putting the Rotary Pins on our new members.

In the program, our President Rtn. Prem K Khatri provided vase plants as tokens of love to District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal, District Secretary Rtn. Prabhat Yonjon, Assistant Governor Rtn. Preeti Shah and various other guests. We chose plants as tokens because we have focused on tree plantation this year as one of our important projects. It is a part of supporting Rotary International’s focus area, Protecting the Environment, and District 3292’s goal of planting 500 trees by each club.

Finally, we moved to the main highlight of the program, which was to honor two culture contributors. District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal bestowed Vocational Excellence Award 2021 to Mr Chhatra Bahadur Kayastha and Mr Hari Man Shrestha for their lifelong dedication to preservation of culture. The award is given from Rotary Club of Mount Everest Lalitpur and Lalitpur Center for Culture Conservation. RCMEL supports culture and tourism, so every year we give Vocational Excellence Awards.

Mr Chhatra Bahadur Kayastha was recognized and honored for his lifelong dedication in the service of conservation of culture and heritage through research and studies and publications of numerous books, particularly “Research Documentation on 36 Songs Written by Poet King Siddhi Narsingh Malla”. And, Mr Hari Man Shrestha was recognized and honored for his role as Actor, Guru of Kartik Nach and his contribution in the conservation of Kartik Nach through performances, promotions, and publication of the book “Kartik Nach”.

The day ended with fellowship and dinner. The participants enjoyed delicious food and companies of distinguished guests.

We are extremely grateful to District Governor Rtn. Santosh Rijal, District Secretary Rtn. Prabhat Yonjon, Assistant Governor Rtn. Preeti Shah, Mr Chhatra Bahadur Kayastha, Mr Hari Man Shrestha, fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians for your presence in the program and your contribution to make the program successful and memorable for all.